Tag: cyclists

Breakfast in Messy Bed!

Perfectionists have a lot of baggage that other people don’t, and that baggage comes from constantly striving to appear perfect.” Basically, it’s not easy being perfect; it’s heavy and exhausting.

When we live a rigid life in order to attain out-of-reach goals, we miss out on the organic rhythms that our mind and bodies might be moving to in a life less focused on perfection. Striving to be great … or good or even just okay.

Messy but lots of Fun!

Rather than perfect allows one to find their groove and excel, even if that means excelling with a messy sink or undone hair. And when you get to that point, and can find the liberating joy of imperfection? I would say that’s pretty perfect.

Messy Beautiful Hair!

Furnham says that people focused on perfection tend to have low self-esteem, noting also the presence of “guilt and its fellow travelers, shame and self-recrimination.” Admittedly it’s not clear if low self esteem feeds perfectionism or if perfectionism feeds low self esteem, but when I think of the more confident people I know, they are the ones unashamed of imperfection.

I for one stopped being so rigid in my cycling schedule. I now dress the way I feel like, colorful if I want to, no planned routes. Yes, I am a Messy Cyclist, and I LOVE IT!

I love cycling, but these are the things I do not like about cycling:

1. Men cyclists trying to race me when they know perfectly well I am a cyclist woman (I have long hair), and especially when they are in their twenties. I am in my 50’s. But I get pumped up and annoyed and I start pedaling my bike so fast that I pass them every single time.

2. When I am all ready and dressed up to go out for my usual bike ride and the weather decides I should stay home and starts pouring rain!

3. I am pedaling my bike, climbing up a hill, minding my own business and suddenly a cyclist approaches me and begins to give me “cycling lessons”: “you should do this, don’t do that, blah blah blah….” Seriously, some cyclists are so pedantically obnoxious. By now, I completely disregard him, start pedaling fast and leaving him behind, or tell him on his face that I have cycled and raced for 26 years and tell him off.

5. I don’t like it when I had planned to pedal some 40 to 50 kilometers, I am all pumped up at the 20 or 30 km and then I feel one of my wheels hitting the road flat, pedaling is harder and I know my front or back tire IS FLAT!!

6. I hate it when the weather is beautiful, my physical condition ready to pedal 50 to 80 km the next day. I go to bed early and when I wake up at 4:30 am the evil sneezing and the painful sore throat start. I know I have to stay home so I don’t make it worse and recover faster.

7. I hate when drivers of automobiles scream things at me like: move! get out of the road! …. even worse, when they try to hit me to make me fall (they have never been successful -I have great reflexes)

8. Don’t like it when my bike hits a pothole full of water and I get wet.

9. I hate when friends or relatives agree to meet me at certain time in the morning (usually 5 or 6 am) for a bike ride and they show up late or not at all.

10. I couldn’t think about anything else “I hate about cycling”. There are dozens of things I love about cycling! 🤩

My condolences to his family and all cyclists who love this sport. A great loss today in the professional cycling community and all of us amateur cyclists. Rest in peace.

The Belgian cyclist Michael Goolaerts, 23 years old, has died in hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest during Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix race.

The 23-year-old’s death was confirmed by Véranda’s Willems-Crelan in a statement on their Twitter account.

Goolaerts was taken to a hospital after receiving CPR treatment on the side of the road after a crash.

The statement from Véranda’s Willems-Crelan read: “It is with unimaginable sadness that we have to communicate the passing of our rider and friend Michael Goolaerts. He passed away on Sunday evening at 22.40 in Lille hospital in the presence of his family members and loved ones, who we keep in our thoughts. He died of cardiac arrest, all medical assistance was to no avail.”